About the role
The Referral and Assessment Team respond to all children's social care referrals received by the Single Point Assessment team (SPA). The team undertakes a range of assessments and care planning work including Initial and core assessments, initial care proceedings, strategy discussion and S47 investigations, initial accommodation to local authority care, initial child protection conference and initial statutory reviews.

As a Senior Practitioner for Achieving for Children, you will be responsible for:

Ability to hold caseloads of more complex cases and provide advice to other Social Workers in relation to their cases.

Investigate complaints of alleged neglect, abuse or ill-treatment of children; undertake assessments and, where appropriate, arrange accommodation for children, young people

Ensure effective and timely communication within and across the business unit, so that key messages are conveyed to employees, partners, suppliers and other stakeholders in a consistent way.

About us
Working for Achieving for Children, you will have the opportunity to operate at the cutting edge of children's services delivery. We are an award-winning social enterprise created by Kingston and Richmond Councils in 2014, joined in 2017 by Windsor and Maidenhead, and responsible for delivering the boroughs' children's services.

We have been up and running for four years, and in that time we have established a reputation as one of the leading children's services providers in the country. We are one of the Department for Education's eight 'Partners in Practice', tasked with leading improvement across the sector.

About you
To be a Senior Practitioner for AfC, you will be passionate about making a positive difference to the lives of children and young people as well as demonstrating the following points:

Evidence that you work in partnership to improve services

Evidence that you focus on quality and innovation

Evidence that you champion inclusion and value diversity.

Benefit of working for Achieving for Children
As a social enterprise owned by three local authorities (Kingston, Richmond and Windsor & Maidenhead), we offer the freedoms of a social enterprise with the employment benefits of local government. We offer a range of excellent staff benefits, including generous annual leave entitlements, cycle to work scheme, annual season ticket loan, childcare vouchers, and discounts on a range of local shops, restaurants, gyms and leisure centres and much more.

The successful candidate will have access to:

Excellent learning and development opportunities and schemes of support

A competitive and desirable retention package (to include a generous local government pension scheme)

Retention of continuous service benefits, for those moving from a local government post

A clear progression path when key qualification milestones are reached

Tools and models to support practice, including Signs of Safety Reflective supervision from an experienced management team

In return, we will offer you high quality support and development opportunities. Our learning and development offer was highlighted as a key strength by the judging panel when they named us Social Work Employer of the Year in 2016.

If you would like to find out more about this exciting opportunity, please contact Malika Ait Mimoun, malika.mitmimoun@achievingforchildren.org.uk for an informal discussion.

You will find out more about our organisation at https://www.achievingforchildren.org.uk

How to apply
Before applying please ensure you meet the essential criteria. You will then need to complete the online application, adding a supporting statement addressing how you meet the criteria outlined on the role profile. Some of our positions require CV only.

Achieving for Children is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All candidates will be required to undertake a Criminal Record Check. The possession of a criminal record will not necessarily prevent an applicant from obtaining this post, as all cases are judged individually according to the nature of the role and information provided. However, should you not declare an offence that is subsequently revealed, e.g. through the DBS check, then this may place your appointment in jeopardy.